


welcome to the family

by noodlevault



Category: Entry Point (Video Game)
Genre: did someone say fluff, this is just a coping method for dedication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 11:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlevault/pseuds/noodlevault
Summary: A fluff one-shot of an AU where The Director is a grandpa that doesn't know how to show affection, and the other characters are actually birds.





	welcome to the family

**Author's Note:**

> wow I get to post the first ao3 EP fic? don't mind if I do

The 8-year-old stared out the window of the office, sighing to herself. Evenings spent at Grandpa's house were never fun. Her mom's friend, Racheal, was always the more competent babysitter. Yet this particular evening she was quite busy, causing her mother to make a last-resort decision to drop Mae off at her grandfather's. Mae settled on amusing herself with Grandpa's office chair, kicking off from his desk and tucking her legs in to spin faster.

"Mae! Don't do that, you'll break the chair!" A familiar voice called out. And there Grandpa stood in the doorframe, as tall and intimidating as usual in one of his many suits. Mae had no clue why he always wore them like every day was a business opportunity. She had a suspicion that he even slept in them.

"How did you even get to my office anyway? You're not supposed to be in here!" There was clear worry in his tone.

Mae frowned, her eyes tearing up. She didn't know why he was so strict and cold all the time. She never enjoyed getting yelled at, and definitely not by him.

"Just try not to touch anything that looks important, alright? How about I get you a snack in the kitchen for now?" Her grandfather noticed her expression and backtracked on his harsh words.

Mae could see he felt a twinge of guilt for being so strict to his granddaughter. He had so little experience with taking care of young children anyways. She was sure that he always managed grown adults who he had gotten accustomed to telling off at the drop of a hat.

Her grandpa hoisted her off the office chair and on his shoulders, shutting the door behind them. Mae's blurry eyes soon cleared up as she giggled- being so high up was always fun for her. Although all the way up on Grandpa's shoulders, Mae could still see a ghost of a smile on his typically stoic face.

She was soon set down at the elegant dining table that Grandpa owned. Everything in his house was excessively modern, definitely not fit for a small child to live in- let alone spend the afternoon.

"What do you want for a snack?" He offered.

"Animal crackers!"

Her grandpa frowned, looking at his pantry full of organic, gluten-free snacks only he enjoyed. "Er..."

"ANIMAL CRACKERS!" Mae repeated, grinning.

He looked to the pantry once more. "How about... plantain chips?"

"What's a plantain?" Mae tilted her head.

Her grandpa sighed, idly scratching his precariously styled beard. He dug around for better alternatives in the pantry, but then paused as he heard Mae get up from her seat and rush to the backdoor.

"Grandpa, Grandpa! Can I go outside?" Mae pressed her face to the sliding glass door, looking out onto his neglected garden.

He thought for a moment. He did need to do plenty of paperwork and simply didn't have the time to watch over her the whole afternoon.

"Sure, I guess. Don't get into trouble, alright?"

Her grandpa followed her out into the yard, bringing along a box of toys he used to own as a kid that had been collecting dust for decades. Almost right away, the scruffy old jackdaw that had taken claim of his backyard started cawing at him. It seemed to outright despise Mae's grandfather, cawing and flapping its wings when he got within a few feet of the bird.

"Be careful around that mean ol' bird. It's been here for years and I can't seem to get rid of it, it keeps coming back." He set the box of toys down on the grass. "Head inside if you need me, alright?"

Mae nodded as she sat down in the grass. The jackdaw finally stopped cawing as Grandpa disappeared behind the sliding door.

"You're a silly bird!" Mae giggled, turning to the jackdaw, who was watching her intently. The jackdaw fluttered down from one of the trees in the yard, taking a few hops towards her. Mae reached out her hand towards the bird, but it attempted to nip at her finger. A sparrow seemed to materialize behind the jackdaw, chirping at it with no end, like it was scolding the other. Mae laughed as the jackdaw seemed visibly annoyed with the other bird.

While the two birds quarreled, Mae reached out to Grandpa's dusty box of toys. She poured the contents out onto the grass. Out came a collection of old army toys, dusty and worn. Among the miniature soldiers came a toy helicopter, mini models of buildings, and a few toy cars. The sparrow looked up from it's quarreling with the jackdaw and fluttered over to the pile of toys, poking at the helicopter. Mae looked up to see that more birds had gathered in the tree above her. A copper-red finch fluttered down to a nearby fence, chirping at the other two birds. It was soon joined by a smaller wren on the fence.

"There's a lot of you!" Mae looked at the birds that had gathered so far. A raven-colored falcon had joined the other two birds on the fence, strangely quiet compared to the rest. The yard and fence birds seemed to have a stare-off, the jackdaw particularly focused on the wren. After a good few seconds, the wren hopped down with the rest of the fence birds, chirping at the sparrow and jackdaw. In an instant, the jackdaw let out a caw and fluttered towards the wren, engaging in a scuffle with the bird. The finch let out a screech, trying to separate the two. The falcon and sparrow exchanged glances as they saw the fight play out, not bothering to join in.

Mae sifted through the pile of toys as the birds fought, organizing them in a neat manner. She had set up a small road intersection with toys and sticks, arranging a model bank nestled in a corner. "I know! I bet you're fighting over..." Mae paused, ripping out grass from the lawn under her and sprinkling it on the toy bank. "This bank! You fence birds want all the grass to yourself, but the lawn birds hoarded all of it!"

The birds stopped fighting, turning towards her. The wren hopped up to the toy bank first, pecking at the grass Mae had set on it. The wren fluttered away with all the grass in its beak back to the fence. It looked almost smug as the falcon and finch joined it as well. The jackdaw let out another caw back to the fence birds, turning to the sparrow.

"If you want your revenge... What if you lawn birds stole their grass?" The sparrow and jackdaw looked up to Mae, tilting their heads- then looking to the fence. The sparrow fluttered over to the fence, swooping in and taking the wren's grass in its beak before flying back out. The jackdaw looked down the sparrow, giving a small whistle, almost like it was congratulating it. All three of the fence birds chirped to each other, then flapped away back into the trees. The sparrow and jackdaw looked up to where the fence birds disappeared, whistling and chirping. 

"You have all the backyard to yourself now!" Mae laughed, reaching out a second time. The jackdaw looked at her hand with a cautious expression, but allowed her to scratch under its chin. It chirped as it was pet and scratched, not used to the pleasant feeling. Through the small scritches Mae gave the jackdaw, she could feel that the fight she saw was not this bird's first one. She felt bad for it, in a way. Although it was an aggressive, grumpy, and downright mean bird, its small chirps as it was pet showed that the jackdaw still could be nice for a change. 

"Mae! Your mother just got here." The backdoor opened as her grandfather ducked out. The jackdaw cawed at him, flying away onto a tree. The sparrow soon joined the jackdaw, carrying the toy helicopter with it. 

"You... Looked like you had fun." Grandpa offered Mae a smile, ruffling her curly red hair. "Let's put these away, shall we?" He gestured to the toys splayed out on the grass, kneeling down to gather them.

"The birds in this place were so cool! There was this jackdaw that tried to fight a wren because it stole their grass! And then the sparrow who was the jackdaws friend took revenge and everything-" Mae rambled on and on about her adventures she had in the backyard. 

Mae was soon led back indoors to where her mother waited, leaving the backyard empty. She ran to her mother who stood by the front door, hugging her tightly. "Momma! Momma! Grandpa's house was really really cool! I played in the backyard, and then these birds came, and then I played with them too!" 

Mae's mother gave her a smile and turned to leave, before Mae pulled out of her hand and gave her grandfather a tight hug. Although a bit taken by surprise, he couldn't suppress the smile growing on his face as he hugged his granddaughter back. 

"I'm glad you had fun, Mae." His voice was rather quiet, as if he didn't want anyone to hear. Mae grinned, and took the hand of her mother again, after shouting a goodbye as she left.

A while after the backdoor shut, the jackdaw and sparrow looked to the tree where the wren and the others had disappeared in. The jackdaw let out a low chirp- this backyard war was just beginning.


End file.
